{"id":55059,"date":"2017-04-28T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T00:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=55059"},"modified":"2017-05-04T20:47:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T20:47:55","slug":"album-review-barathrum-fanatiko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-barathrum-fanatiko\/","title":{"rendered":"BARATHRUM – Fanatiko (2017) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BARATHRUM
Fanatiko<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSaturnal (2017)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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From Merriam-Webster online dictionary:<\/p>\n

Definition of Barathrum<\/em> <\/p>\n

plural
\nbarathra
\n\\-r\u0259\\
\n1: a bottomless pit or abyss:<\/p>\n

Hell<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that sums it up nicely regarding Barathrum, an innovator of the classic Finnish, black-doom style that\u2019s influenced countless bands in this hellish genre. Now, nine studio albums in, Barathrum is back, stronger than ever, and Fantatiko<\/em>, the band’s first album in 12 years, is a testament to that blasphemed sound they originated 26 years ago when they were spat forth from metal\u2019s dark womb.<\/p>\n

In order to properly look at Fanatiko<\/em>, it\u2019s important to see how this record fits into the band\u2019s sinister discography and how it stacks up, specifically to their first two records, Hailstorm<\/em> (1995) and Eerie<\/em> (1995), both crucial mid-90s releases that were extremely important in establishing a new precedent for how Finnish black metal would sound and be perceived today. Unfortunately, the band would eventually go on hiatus, but three new songs surfaced on a split 10-inch with Ep\u00e4kristus in 2010 that stirred hope that Barathrum might rise from the grave. Worry not dear friends, Fanatiko<\/em> is a return to the band\u2019s early grandeur and Barathrum truly is back.<\/p>\n

Fanatiko<\/em> isn\u2019t straight up, proper black metal, per se. Now don\u2019t get me wrong, there\u2019s a few tunes that tread that direction but for the most part it\u2019s a solid mix of heavy rock that goes back and forth between hints of Celtic Frost, as in the second song \u2018Pope Corpse Tattoo\u2019 \u2013 which might be my favourite \u2013 as well as Venom on \u2018Church Amok\u2019, and the title track itself which closes out the record.<\/p>\n

Barathrum are at their strongest when they\u2019re reaching deep inside themselves, digging around, searching for the blackest, filthiest metal they can conjure forth. \u2018On The Dark River Bank\u2019 is a prime example a mere three songs in. Now keep in mind that this is after we\u2019ve been bludgeoned with \u2018Hellspawn\u2019 and \u2018Pope Corpse Tattoo\u2019. By this point, most bands slow it down, but Barathrum do the opposite and bore full steam ahead. The remainder of Fanatiko<\/em> is a glorious mix of the heaviest of metal rife with Barathrum\u2019s signature, Finnish black-doom style, running through each song; lest we not forget who this band is, and how black their blood runs.<\/p>\n

All in all, Barathrum have returned with a vengeance, and Fanatiko<\/em> is a fine mark of the beast. It\u2019s good, solid metal that\u2019ll satisfy the staunchest of critics and fans alike. In a day and age of cookie cutter nonsense and black metal wannabes, Barathrum are back… and they\u2019re here to stay.<\/p>\n

Theron Moore<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BARATHRUMFanatiko Saturnal (2017)Rating: 8\/10 From Merriam-Webster online dictionary: Definition of Barathrum plural barathra \\-r\u0259\\ 1: a bottomless pit or abyss: Hell And that sums it up nicely regarding Barathrum, an innovator of the classic Finnish, black-doom style that\u2019s influenced countless bands in this hellish genre. Now, nine studio albums in, Barathrum is back, stronger than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3401],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-barathrum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55059"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55064,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55059\/revisions\/55064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}